Jadon Lavik - Roots Run Deep

Producer:  Fernando Ortega, Zach Hodges, Jadon Lavik, Nicholas Rodriguez, Tony Guerrero
Label:  BEC Recordings
Website:  http://www.jadonlavik.com

Jadon Lavik debuted on the Christian music scene a couple years ago with his BEC Recordings’ debut Moving On Faith.  That album wasn’t a huge hit, but it did establish Lavik as a pretty successful artist at radio.  His sophomore album followed, and while it was similar to his debut, critics applauded Life On the Inside for showing a good amount of growth for the budding singer/songwriter.  Lavik is now releasing his third album, Roots Run Deep, which is a collection of some of Lavik’s favorite hymns set to the backdrop of acoustic and simple arrangements.  Taking that into consideration - this album really works well for Jadon.  The album is intimate and stays true to the original arrangements of these hymns - giving Lavik the chance to really shine as a vocalist and musician.  His takes on classics like “Tis So Sweet”, “I Need Thee Every Hour”, “Come Thou Fount”, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, and “Blessed Assurance” are album highlights and nice tributes to the original hymns.  However, just like it is a strength for the album, being a big too stripped down also hurts the album in many respects.  There’s not a lot here that separates this hymns album from recent works by artists like Fernando Ortega (who makes a guest appearance here on “Tis So Sweet") or Bart Millard.  There just aren’t too many risks that were taken here.  “This Is My Father’s World”, “Wondrous Love”, and “Take My Life” really do nothing to build on the songs and others have recorded these songs much better before.  However, even with the lack of creative fortitude shown here, Roots Run Deep is, frankly, a charming record that will surely earn Lavik some new fans.  His voice is pleasant and the arrangements are nice enough to appeal to a wide variety of people.  This album may not have been his best move creatively, but commercially will probably benefit Lavik greatly.

Purchase Roots Run Deep.

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